The Ones Who Remain/Issue 13
This is issue 13 of The Ones Who Remain, entitled: Liars and Killers and Thieves (Oh my!). Issue 13; Liars and Killers and Thieves (Oh my!) ---- Day 750 ~ 5:27 P.M. ---- “She was right here -- I swear it!” Brenda exclaimed, examining the scene from the day prior, the day that left Sherry wounded and gone. “I swear it…” Emma stumbled behind her, holding onto her large stomach, in the comfort of Aras, the man who sang to Sherry and Emma the morning before. “So,” he started, breathing heavily, “Where could she have gone?” “Without help nowhere…” “What does that mean then?” Emma snapped at Brenda. “She’s gone, one way or another. Either the lurkers got her or another group did -- and from the state that you described her, the possibilities of her surviving are next to zero.” “Hey,” Aras said, grabbing Emma’s shoulder. “Are you okay?” “No--No I’m not!” she snapped, turning her head away from the two. “It’s Sherry -- she’s fucking gone, guys. We have no idea where she is or she’s even alive and--and--and…” she paused, placing her face in her hands. “What are we supposed to do? We can’t just leave her out here -- in the woods all alone, scared.” “We can’t stay out here though.” Aras said, looking from girl to girl. “You’re due any day now, and our people are still out there. People we know for a fact are still alive. We need to make sure they’re safe too.” “How can you even say that?” Emma muttered, a look of disapproval, or even in disgust at Aras. “It’ Sherry we’re talking about here. When Brenda last saw her she was terrified, weak -- we can’t lea--” In the midst of her rage, suddenly she felt herself get light-headed, before collapsing to her knees. Spontaneously, Aras is beside her within seconds, on his knees, his face in front of hers, while Brenda just kinda shuffles along in the background, watching the two. “Are you okay?” Emma just shook her head, trying to stand back up, brushing Aras off. “God -- I’m just so dizzy.” Brenda finally makes her way over to the two, taking a small canteen out of her backpack, getting it ready for Emma, whose face was getting paler by the moment. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, handing her the canteen. Breathing heavily, as Emma leans her shoulders back, standing up straight, she drops the canteen and her face turns a ghostly white, grasping her stomach. “Oh God,” she moaned leaning up against the closest tree, while Brenda quickly grabbed onto her shoulders. “Not now -- any time but now.” Brenda knew exactly what was going on. “Oh no, please don’t do this to us Emma.” she nearly pleaded, staring at Emma’s stomach. “Aras!” Aras, who was standing close to Brenda, almost immediately grabs Emma by the arm, and started to pull her through the woods, Brenda close behind her. “Where are we going?” Brenda nearly yelled, trying to hear herself over Emma’s breathing and shrieks. “Somewhere safe--” Aras said, running head first through the bushes. ---- Nikki and Townley sit by the fireplace in her motel room, warming their hands by the fire. She couldn’t stop shaking -- she was just so cold. And, the longer she sat there and did nothing, the more she thought about everyone who left behind. From her mother to Mike...for all she knows they’re dead. Mike could be lying on the side of the road somewhere, his skin pale, a big hole in his forehead -- and she might never know. “How are we supposed to even get him back?” Jared called from another room, from which he soon exits, sitting on the red, dusty couch behind them. “How should we go about it?” “We have around...I don’t know, I got seven people lining up to do this job with us. And, with them, comes more.” Townley said, looking back at Jared. “What is that supposed to mean?” “Well, most of my ‘squad’ has no one that they care about here, aside from each other. But, one of my guys got a few people that would follow him into hell. So, from here that would put our total at around thirteen. Add on your four -- that’s seventeen? No wait, sixteen?” “Seventeen.” Nikki corrected, her eyes never leaving the fire. “Right,” Townley continued. “Not nearly enough to take down Echo, but a stealth mission might work just fine. Not to mention that getting there will be as dangerous of a job as any, the lurkers lurk, bandits hunt, and not to mention it’ll take a week to get to there.” “We can do it.” Jared said, offering a smile to Nikki, who doesn’t turn back to him, and his smile soon fades. “I’m sure of it.” “Yeah…” Nikki mumbled, before hopping to her feet. “I’m going out.” “Woah, woah, woah,” Jared said, also rising to his feet. “What do you mean you’re going out, Nikki? There are dangerous people here. People who’ll see a pretty girl like you and try to snatch you first chance they get.” “Fuck off.” she muttered, pushing her way past Jared, grabbing a small revolver which she puts in her sweatshirt pocket. “I’m coming with you then.” Jared said, following her to the door. Nikki stopped short, and Jared simultaneously bumps into her. “Don’t. I can take care of myself.” “I know you can, but you don’t know how dangerous these people are, Nikki.” “He’s right.” Townley said by the fire. “These people are literal nutjobs. Someone should accompany you...just in case.” “I should be alright.” Nikki said, before rushing out of the motel room. ---- Day 1837 ~ 11:37 P.M. ---- “HHHHHHHHEEEEEEEELLLLLLPPP!!” The screams echoed throughout the community, men, women, and children alike. They all ran for their lives, leaving behind friends, the elderly who were unable to defend themselves, and it was all in vain anyways. Almost all of them ended up as a meal one way or another. Amy and Luther, two of the members of this very community, Luther in his late teens and Amy in her early twenties, hunkered down in one of the bedrooms. It was pitch black, the only thing that could be heard were the screams in the distance along with Luther’s whimpering. “It’s okay,” Amy whispered, stroking Luther’s long blonde hair whose eyes were fixated on the wall in front of him. “No it’s not…” he mumbled back. “they’re all dead. Every last one of them...they’re all gone.” The two of them sat like that for hours, Amy consoling Luther in the dark. As much as she wanted to get a move on while they could, she knew how fragile her younger brother was, and what she promised their late mother. She’d protect him, always. However, as the sun started to rise, the two knew they needed to make their move and get the hell out of there. Amy rose to her feet first, her revolver tightly gripped in her palm. She held her hand down to Luther, who was still moping and crying. “Luther…” she started, but didn’t get to finish before he grabbed her hand tightly, and she pulled him to his feet. He quickly grabbed hold of his head, and nearly fell right back down, but luckily Amy was there to catch him by the back. “Luther?” “I’m fine--” he said, regaining his balance, taking a deep breath and turning away from her. “I just got a little light-headed, that’s all.” “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, to which he brushed her off. “We need to go, don’t we?” he spat out, wiping a tear from his cheek as he grabbed a crowbar off of the night table. Amy just watched as Luther storm out of the room, before muttering something incoherent to herself and following her younger brother. ---- Cal walked down the Jacksonville street, hands in his dark blue, dirt-covered sweatshirt pocket. He walked with his dead down, trying to not make eye contact with any of these psychos. He would look up every once in a while and see a man with both of his eyes missing, a woman with her lips cut off -- always something so horrible. The crowded streets were starting to become too much for him. He was never one for densely populated areas, after all he did choose to settle in Livingston, one of the more loosely populated safe-zones in Florida. “Fuck. This.” he muttered to himself, before turning into the closest alley. He had a pretty good sense of direction and knew that if he followed the alley going south he should be able to get back to the main road soon. As he walked, he started to doze off. He got lost in his thoughts -- his thoughts of Adrianna of all people. Was it a mistake letting her stay with those strange people? He didn’t even know who they were but he let Adrianna stay with them. They could be rapists for all he knew. “Snap out of it…” he muttered to himself. “She’s fine -- my mom’s fine -- Mike’s fine.” As he turned into the next alley, he instantly froze. Ahead of him was a small scuffle, and Cal almost instantly draws his gun. No one seems to notice him, but Cal is quickly able to make out the scene. Two men are holding this teenage girl by her shoulders against brick wall. One of them had their hand covering her mouth and she looked so desperate. Directly in front of them, another man was beating on some other dude. Cal knows he should just walk away at this point, while they have no idea he’s there. He goes to turn, but at that moment he makes eye contact with the struggling teenage girl. His mind was telling him to walk away, but his heart was was telling him to help the two. “Shit.” he muttered again, this time he lifted his gun into the air and fired a shot into the sky. He just watched as the group of men instantly turn toward him, dropping the girl in the process, who scrambles to get to the boy. “The fuck is your problem?” one of the men asked, slowly walking towards Cal who points his gun in their direction. The man’s voice was dark, his stature menacing. Cal didn’t give up any ground though. He didn’t have to, after all, his face twitched just as the man and one of his buddies walked toward him. “You gonna answer me?” he asked. “What the fuck is your problem?” Without warning, a yell scream is heard, and Cal looked behind the men where all he could see was the third man dropping to the ground. The teenage girl backed away from the twitching body instantly, a shard of glass in her hand. As the two men turned to look, Cal couldn’t control his hands. Two shots went off, one going through the chest of the leader, and the other going through the throat of the buddy. Cal didn’t even bother to look at the two people he just dropped, and instead hurried over to the teenage girl and her friend -- the friend whom still lied on the floor. “Are you okay?” he asked, getting on his knees next to her. “I’m fine.” she said, as he looked up at her. She had long black hair, dark brown eyes, white skin. Like, Mike white. “Thank you.” “No problem, girl.” he said, before turning his attention to the boy on the ground, who too was a teenager. His eye was swollen, a cut going across from cheek to his nose. “Bro, can you walk?” The guy nodded his head. He slowly sat up, and from there both the girl and Cal helped him to his feet. “Thanks.” he said. Opposed to the girl’s voice, which was loud and confident, his voice was more timid. He seemed nervous, yet at the same time his body posture said that he was as confident as could be. “Bee, you think you can make it to Deléno’s?” she asked, putting her hand on his chest for support. “Yea--Yeah.” he stuttered. “Deléno?” Cal repeated. “You mean that black kid with the smoking hot white mom?” “Yeah,” the girl said. “You know them?” “I just came from there.” Cal shrugged. “Hey!” another voice arises from the opposite end of the alley. The three look that way near-instantly, and watch as a woman walks quickly toward them, studying the people that lie on the ground, deceased. “One of you better put these miserable fucks down…” “Who’s this?” Cal whispered, looking at the woman. She had a bandaged nose, and she looked very out of it -- like she just woke up from a hangover or something. “This is Sky. She’s the de facto leader’s whore.” she whispered back. “She’s real nice--” the boy, who the girl referred to as Bee earlier said. “Oh my God, Bee!” Sky nearly shrieked, upon seeing his condition after the beating. She quickly jogged up to him and threw her arms around him. “Are you okay?” she asked, releasing him, and staring into his tired eyes. “Uh -- yes ma’am.” he flinched. “What happened here?” she asked, turning toward the girl and Cal. “Jack?” “We got jumped again.” Jack said, shrugging her shoulders. “Ain’t a big deal though, ‘cause we had a little backup today.” She nudged Cal by the shoulder. Sky turned from Jack to Cal, and Cal almost instantly felt uneasy. The woman was clearly very observant, cause the first thing she noticed was the biter-blood stained on Cal’s hoodie. “You aren’t from around here, are ya?” “Nope.” he casually responded, leaning against the brick wall behind him. “Just came in last night, and only staying ‘till my friend gets better.” Sky nodded her head and crossed her arms, before turning her head toward Jack. “Can you put down those three before they come back?” “Sure,” she simply said, the shard of her glass in her hand. As she walked off, Cal looked back at Bee who grew more tense by the moment. Cal looked at him curiously, until he was brought back by Sky, whose voice was like nails on a chalkboard. “So, is your friend that blonde girl? Nikki, was it?” Sky asked. Cal’s eyes grew a little. “You know her?” “Nah, she stumbled into the clinic as I was leaving.” Sky said. “Since I normally keep a tab on all of the children here, I kinda figured she was new as well. We had a nice long talk during her examination.” As Jack made her way back toward the three, Bee sat back down against the brick wall, however Cal seemed unaware of everything aside from this conversation. “Who was she with?” he quickly asked. “She came in alone.” Sky said. “She said she was lookin’ for a boy named Cal, who I’m guessing is you...?” Cal sighed, and his face grew red. “Why is she alone?” he muttered to himself, before storming off, just as Jack reaches them. “What’s going on?” Jack asked, looking back at Cal. Sky shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t know.” she said, before turning back to Bee, pulling him back to his feet. “Now c’mon, you’re going to the clinic.” “Sk--” he started. “This isn’t an option.” she muttered. “Del and I will meet you there!” Jack said, placing a reassuring hand on Bee’s shoulder. “But--” “No buts,” interrupted Sky again, tugging on Bee’s sleeve. “let’s go.” ---- Day 1838 ~ 5:29 A.M. ---- Luther and Amy soon made their way outside of their old house, and into the streets of their old community. The sight wasn’t pretty to say the least. Right in the street was a corpse of a man, someone they didn’t recognize, but the sight was still horrific. His intestines lied on the cold street next to him, and Luther thought he was gonna throw up right then and there. “Just don’t look.” Amy whispered from behind him. Luther instantly looked behind him at his sister, who motioned him along the side of the road. Besides the blood that stained the streets, the community they once lived in was empty. A corpse here or there, but nothing that indicated this place was once a functioning society. The duo continued to wander the streets of their fallen safe-haven, Luther twitching and flinching at every corpse they happened to come across, and Amy constantly trying to keep him on track. “No biters, huh?” Amy asked Luther, who sat by a stop sign. The two decided to rest for the short time being, now that they have a long road ahead of them. “Maybe someone lured them out like we used too…” he sighed. “maybe someone thought that they could save everyone inside…” “That’s definitely a possibility.” Amy countered, rubbing her temples. “I just--” She’s interrupted by the groaning of a biter. It’s presence immediately brings Luther to his feet, and Amy almost instantaneously readies a metal baseball bat. “Where is it coming from?” she whispered. “I don’t know, sis.” Luther whined. As the groaning got louder, both Amy and Luther’s attention shifts toward the lone biter which emerges from behind a pretty little yellow house. It’s bloody-eyes and missing skin from the cheek makes the biter almost completely unrecognizable. Almost. As it got closer, Amy was able to make out who it was, and her heart instantly sank. It was Adrianna’s boyfriend. “Is it--” Luther started. “Yes.” Amy interrupted. Luther’s face turned pale white wish sudden realization... “Wasn’t he watching the kids tonight? Didn’t he have Eliza?” Lucas asked, the panic evident in his face and voice. “Yes.” Amy simply said. “Does that mean they’r--” “I don’t know.” Amy interrupted again, walking toward the biter. She quickly took one swing with the bat and crushed his head in, and Amy couldn’t stand to see him fall to the ground. She turned away in disgust back to her brother, and walked straight past him. “Let’s get out of here.” ---- Day 750 ~ 5:56 P.M. ---- Brenda squeezes the panicking Emma’s hand, as she lies on her back in the middle of an old diner. Brenda gently touches Emma’s forehead with her free hand, and Emma was burning up way too quickly for Brenda’s liking. Brenda’s eyes go wide and she can sense the panic setting in. Brenda looked back at Aras, who was just watching the two -- unsure what to do. Next to him was Nicole, the one-legged girl, who held onto baby Mike closely. Her eyes were wide open, staring at Emma. “Guys, what do we do?” Brenda asked, looking between the two. “We can’t deliver this baby?!?” “What choice do we have?” Aras asked, taking Mike from Nicole. “Nicole help her, I’ll bring Mike to Joel and Jen.” As Aras left with Mike, Nicole hopped over to Brenda who was already in the process of removing Emma’s pants. “Bren--Bren…” Emma started, but she couldn’t continue; she was just too out of it. Brenda quickly grabbed Emma’s hand again as Nicole gently rubbed Emma’s forehead. “I know Emma,” Brenda said, her voice reassuring but shaky. “It’ll be okay though, we’ll deliver this baby and you’re going to have a beautiful baby boy or girl.” “I’m so hot…” she said, panting. Nicole took that as her queue to go find water, and she hopped to her foot and hopped off. “You’re gonna be okay.” Brenda whispered, gently touching Emma’s cheek with her lips. “Trust me.” ---- Nikki limped down the busy streets of Jacksonville, the only thing on her mind: Getting to Cal. She needed to find him and tell him the good news -- they have people that want to help get Mike back! Sky had told her where one of Adrianna’s old friends lived, that they were most likely there. If dreaming and hoping to see Mike wasn’t bad enough, especially knowing the odds of that happening was quite slim, her mind started taking it to a whole new level. Instead of thinking of Mike as her best friend, all of a sudden her mind started taking it down a different route. She kept thinking about his blonde hair, his pale white skin and how terrified he must be. She must be the one to save him. It needs to be her. She needs to be able to rescue him from whatever hell he’s in right now, and carry him to safety if need be. She needs to let him know how she feels, that she loves him. That she wants to be with him forever and ever and ever… She’s suddenly taken out of her thoughts when she hits the floor with a loud thud, and the pain in her ankle shoots through her body. She didn’t know what happened, but she now feels like screaming. Screaming on the top of her lungs for Jared, for Cal, for anyone to help her -- but she knows she can’t do that. She’d look weak, and if there’s one thing that she remembers from Jared, is that weakness was the downfall of humanity. It was the downfall of all life. So, with all the strength that Nikki still had left in her emaciated body, she pulled herself to her feet. She continued to limp to that address that Sky had left her, but she was getting exhausted. Maybe she should just turn around and go back to Jared… “Excuse me, ma’am.” a faint voice says from behind her, and she soon feels a hand placed on her shoulder. Fear quickly overcomes Nikki and she hops back, letting out a small shriek. She looks up at the man who had tried catching her attention, who just stared at her confused. “Are you okay?” “Yeah--” she lied. “You just really scared me.” The man chuckled. “Sorry ‘bout that. You dropped this when you fell back there.” he said, handing Nikki her pistol. “Oh, thanks.” she said. “I didn’t even realize I dropped it.” “No problem.” he shrugged, before looking down at Nikki’s ankle. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re ankle looks really fucked up.” “I’m fine.” she stubbornly said, turning away from the man. “Thanks again.” “C’mon,” he insisted, walking next to Nikki. “Let me just help you get to your destination. You look like you’re in a great amount of pain.” Nikki sighed, looking into the man’s eyes. He seemed genuine enough, and he doesn’t look borderline crazy like the other psychos in this place. “Fine.” The man smiled. “I’m Jerry.” She returned the smile. “Nikki.” ---- In one of the hotel rooms in Jacksonville, two people, a man and woman sat together at a table. The two looked incredibly pissed at one another, the man more-so than the woman. “Natalya, can I ask you something? Are you ever gonna get off your fat ass and help this fucking place?” the man asked, rolling his eyes. “Probably not.” she simply responded. “Only cause I don’t care ‘bout none of yall. It ain’t like you askin’ anyone else to fucking help out anyways, are you? Just me. This is some bullshit, Liam.” Liam, the guy, is the de facto leader of Jacksonville, and Natalya, the woman, is one of the hundreds of city-drunks. “Are you just gonna waste day-after-day getting drunk? You’re gonna blow out your liver if you ain’t jumped and killed in the next week.” “Who’ll care anyways? You?” she laughed, getting up from her chair. “Bitch, you don’t care about me, I don’t care about you or this place, so leave me be, okay?” Liam snickered, flipping her off as she left the room, and soon his apartment. ---- Adrianna stumbled through the streets of Jacksonville, tears falling down her face. She always told herself that she didn’t want to know what happened to her children, that way she could always hold onto the hope that it was possible they were still alive. Unfortunately, after hearing Amy & Luther’s story, she knew for a fact that they were dead and gone. She couldn’t stay long after that, and silently sulked through street, seemingly not noticing the vast amounts of people staring at her. “Hey, stop!” a giggling Nikki said, just in Adrianna’s earshot. Adrianna immediately looked up, and in front of her was Nikki, who was currently using Jerry for support. “What the--” she started, watching as the two made a sharp turn into one of the buildings. Adrianna was never a nervous or anxious being, but for some reason, seeing Nikki enter the pub with that man almost made her collapse on the spot -- maybe it was just her body’s way of reacting to everything…it didn’t matter to her. Adrianna quickly broke away from the crowd, and followed them. ---- Day 802 ~ 11:38 P.M. ---- On a dark, cold night deep in southern Georgia, the area was almost completely empty. There was only slight movement on the side of the highway from a small group of people. It was Brenda’s group, but this time, they were different. They were covered in dirt and filth, and most of ‘em looked broken, both emotionally and physically. Leading the group was Joel Dewitt, the oldest of the bunch. He was the only one who walked with confidence amongst the group of five. Behind him was Jennifer, Joel’s childhood friend. Her shoulders were slumped, and she was holding young Mike, touching his face with hers. Behind her was Emma and Nicole, the one-legged girl. Emma carried her two-month old baby daughter, Nikki, as well as helping Nicole move along the road. The two girls looked worn out, ready to just fall at any moment. And in the back of the pact was Brenda, a M16 by her side. She didn’t seem down, but more antsy then the rest of ‘em, ready to just snap at any moment. “I can’t -- I can’t keep going.” Emma complained, and all eyes flew to her. “Can we settle for the night? Please?” “You don’t wanna wait until we get to shelter?” Jennifer asked, looking down at the baby in her arms. “It might be safer if we find a house or a car to lie in.” “How long would it be?” Emma countered. “What’s wrong?” Joel asked, annoyed. “We need to keep movin’.” “Easy for you to say!” Nicole exclaimed. “You don’t have a baby that needs constant attention? Do you know how much energy it takes to constantly breast-feed them?” “No, I don’t. Do you?” he stubbornly asked. “That’s not the point!” she countered. “Emma’s worn out, and it’s not like we can give Nikki the formula, ‘cause we need that for Mike.” “Girls, I understand you’re tired, but shelter should be the objective here.”Jennifer said, turning her back toward Joel. “Can you grab the water out of my bag?” As Joel unzipped Jennifer’s backpack, Emma just stared down at her little baby girl who slept in her arms. Her face was so chubby and cute, she was Emma’s pride and joy. The things she would do to protect her girl… ---- Jerry led Nikki through the crowded pub, and into one of the backrooms. In the room was what seemed to be just a normal bedroom, a queen-sized bed in the middle of the room, a couple of drawers and a TV that didn't work. He quickly helped Nikki onto the bed, who still giggled. “I can’t believe that’s how things used to be!” she giggled. “People used to actually be able to talk to someone millions of miles away?” Jerry chuckled. “Millions may be an exaggeration, but yeah, pretty crazy huh?” “That’s insane!” Jerry, opening up one of his drawers, smiled back at Nikki. “Did I mention my baby sister to you yet?” Nikki’s smile soon disappeared as she shook her head. Jerry nodded his head, going through his drawer. “My sister, she was about your age…” he started. “I ain’t gonna bore you with details, but what happened was that she trusted someone she shouldn’t had. This man she met in this small community -- she thought he was good.” Nikki listened intently to Jerry’s story, placing her hands on her knees, forgetting about getting to Cal and Adrianna. “What happened?” she asked. Jerry sighed. “Are you even listening to the context of the story?” Nikki just shrugged her shoulders. “About your sister?” Seemingly without warning, Jerry turns away from the drawer, a pistol now in his hand. Nikki’s body immediately tenses up, and as Jerry slowly approached her, gun pointed directly at her face, Nikki freezes with fear. “As I was saying,” Jerry continued, now directly in front of Nikki, placing his gun on her forehead. “My sister trusted the wrong guy, she was shot and killed. Why are you fucking girls so naive? You could be dead just like my baby sist--” Jerry’s suddenly cut off when the sound of gunshots ring throughout the closed room. The gun in front of Nikki’s face falls to the ground, and she can feel a warm liquid go into her eyes, which she immediately shuts. A loud thud is heard, and Nikki suddenly begins to hysterically cry. “Nikki--Nikki?” She instantly recognizes the voice as Adrianna’s, and as she feels Adrianna’s presence by her side, Nikki jumps into her direction, her arms wide open. As Nikki collapses in Adrianna’s arms, she can feel a hand run through her dirty blonde hair as she aimlessly cried. Category:The Ones Who Remain Category:The Ones Who Remain Issues Category:Issues